Jennifer Jones shifts focus from curling to motherhood

Jennifer Jones puts curling on hold, expecting first child in December

Jennifer Jones is a former world women’s champion, a four-time Canadian champion and author of the most dramatic walk-off shot in Canadian curling history.

But during this life-altering off-season, the Winnipeg skip, who celebrated her 38th birthday on Saturday, is about to add another, far more meaningful, title to her resume: mother.

Jones confirmed on Tuesday that she and her boyfriend Brent Laing, a member of Glenn Howard’s reigning Brier and world championship squad, are expecting their first child in mid-December.

But Jones would have been out of competitive curling until the new year anyways, because in addition to dealing with the early stages of pregnancy, she also had knee surgery in June to repair a torn ligament in her right (pushing) knee.

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“Brent and I couldn’t be happier,” said Jones on Tuesday. “It will be a challenge, of course, but we feel ready for it. We really are thrilled.”

This, of course, will raise inevitable questions about Jones’s future as a Manitoba curler, but she made it crystal clear on Tuesday that she will maintain her residency in Winnipeg while Laing will remain in Ontario through, at least, the 2013-14 season. Both curlers have already qualified with their respective teams for the 2013 Tim Hortons Olympic Trials in Winnipeg.

“There’s no question in our minds,” she said. “It will be challenging to have parents in two locations, but Winnipeg is my hometown, my team is in Winnipeg, and I want to compete to represent Manitoba in the Scotties.”

The knee issue was the result of natural wear and tear in curling, but it was made worse when she aggravated it in the spring, prompting the decision to get the joint cleaned up as soon as possible.

Since having the surgery, Jones has been going through rigorous physio treatments to get the knee back to full strength in time for the back half of the curling season, which features her team’s trip to the World Financial Group Continental Cup of Curling in January in Penticton, B.C., along with an automatic berth as defending champion in the Manitoba Scotties provincial championship later that month in Stonewall.

“The doctors told me they’re happy with my progress,” said Jones. “I’m doing everything I can to get it ready and it’s starting to feel better, but I still have lots of work to do.”

This will mean for the second straight season the Jones team will have a new player for early-season events, including the Capital One Canada Cup beginning in late November in Moose Jaw, Sask. Last season, the team was without second Jill Officer for the first half as she was pregnant, giving birth in December.

It’s likely that in Jones’s absence, third Kaitlyn Lawes will move up to skip, with Officer and lead Dawn Askin remaining in their positions; the team is getting close to naming a fill-in third, said Jones.

But back to the timing: in the big picture, having a baby and getting her knee fixed won’t affect Jones’s long-term goal of representing Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“That’s always the focus,” she said. “We have our Trials berth already, so we wouldn’t have needed to go so hard for points in the fall. Now, my knee will be better, and having a baby is going to be wonderful. And I can still have a chance to play at the (provincial) Scotties in January.”